If we ignore Emergency period, Parliament has done well: Dhankhar

New Delhi: Describing Emergency as a "painful, dark" period, Rajya Sabha Chairperson Jagdeep Dhankhar on Saturday said if that period is ignored, the Parliament has done well.

Addressing new MPs of the Rajya Sabha at an orientation programme here, Dhankhar said, "There has been only one painful, heart wrenching dark period and that was when Emergency was declared." During the period, the Constitution was reduced to just a paper, he said.

"It was shredded and leaders were jailed. MISA (Maintenance of Internal Security Act) became a draconian word. One of the senior politicians of the country, Lalu Prasad Yadav, was so moved and touched by the atrocities of the Emergency that he named his child Misa," he said.

Misa Bharti was a member of Rajya Sabha and is currently a Lok Sabha MP.

"That was the sentiment. If we ignore that dark period, our parliament has performed very well. It has done excellently," Dhankhar told the new RS MPs.

He also lauded the members of Parliament, saying they have contributed to the growth of the nation.